Diabetes Facts

The signs of diabetes are not always dramatic. They may not even be noticeable. In fact, the American Diabetes Association (ADA) estimates that millions of Americans have type 2 diabetes and are not even aware of it.

Watch for these symptoms. If you notice any of the following, ask your doctor to test you for diabetes.

For TYPE 1:

Excessive urination

Constant thirst

For TYPE 2:

The need to urinate more than usual

Constant thirst

Unusual weight loss

Feeling weak or tired

Blurred vision

Tingling or numbness in hands or feet

Cuts and bruises that are slow to heal

Frequent and recurring infections such as urinary tract infections, boils, and fungus

Difficulty with erections in men, and unusual vaginal dryness in women

Extreme hunger

Feeling nauseated and vomiting

Laboratory diagnostic tests also include measurement or analysis of:

• Ketones in the urine/blood
• Electrolytes
• pH level in the veins
• CBC (complete blood count)
• Islet cell antibodies
• Thyroid function tests and thyroid antibodies
• Kidney function tests
• Lipid profile

The importance of a lipid profile

This test measures the level of blood fats in your blood. People with diabetes are prone to higher levels of blood fats in their systems — which puts them at increased risk of heart and blood vessel disease. You should have these tests done at least once a year. Your total fasting cholesterol should be less than 200 mg/dL. Your levels of HDL (so-called good fats) should be greater than 35 mg/dL. Your levels of LDL (bad fats) should be less than 130, and your triglyceride levels should be under 200 mg/dL. If you have heart or blood vessel disease, these levels may have to be even lower to prevent more problems.

If your test results don’t fall in these ranges, your physician should be referring your to a dietitian for help with lowering the overall fat content in your diet, and help in losing weight, if that is a problem. He/she should also encourage you to begin an exercise program — and should recommend an exercise tolerance test before you embark on an exercise program if you are over age 35 or have any diabetes complications. If you have any diabetes complications, he/she should be referring you to an exercise specialist (usually an exercise physiologist).

Caring for the 99 million Americans with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma and hypertension accounts for the majority of the 1 trillion spent on healthcare annually.

Fifty percent of type 2 diabetics are diagnosed at time of their first heart attack.

Young men between ages 15-25 already show significant cardiovascular disease (CVD), an LDL is a major risk factor that is modifiable by diet and exercise ~ if it is known to be elevated.
(USA Today Article)

There is the same risk of death in people with diabetes without known CAD and patients with CVD and history of MI.
(Source: Indiana Heart Institute)

At least 10.3 million Americans carry a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus. Another 5.4 million are estimated to have undiagnosed diabetes.
(Source: American Heart Association)

CVDs are listed as the cause of death in approximately 65 percent of people with diabetes.

Diabetes acts as an independent risk factor for several forms of CVD. To make matters worse, when patients with diabetes develop clinical CVD, they sustain a worse prognosis for survival than do CVD patients without diabetes.
(Source: American Heart Association)

Myocardial ischemia due to coronary atherosclerosis commonly occurs without symptoms in patients with diabetes. As a result, multivessel atherosclerosis often is present before ischemic symptoms occur and before treatment is instituted.
(Source: American Heart Association)

Improved glycemic control, better control of hypertension, and prevention of atherosclerois with cholesterol-lowering therapy may prevent of mitigate diabetic cardiomyopathy.
(Source: American Heart Association)

Mortality from stroke is increased almost 3-fold when patients with diabetes are matched to those without diabetes.
(Source: Diabetes Care 1993; 16: 434-444)

Prospective studies document an increased likelihood of sudden cardiac death and unrecognized myocardial infarction in patients with diabetes.
(Source: American Journal of Medicine)

Coronary artery disease is the most common cause of premature death in both men and women with diabetes. Thus, optimal care should be to address atherosclerotic risk factors, which in diabetic patients center on elevated triglycerides levels and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels
(Geoffrey Gates, M.D., Mayo Clinic.)

Low HDL levels and elevated Total Cholesterol: HDL ratios are associated with increased coronary risk.
(Source: Framingham Study JAMA 1986)